I attacked the green beans this weekend. I had no other choice. I had bushel of green beans just waiting for me. Yeah, that's 30+ pounds of green beans. I talked with one of the vendors at the farmers market and we worked out a deal on 2 bushels. I bought one and my neighbor Carole got the second. She's up to her elbows in green beans too. I'm a bad influence.

They were easy to can. Time consuming, but not difficult or tricky. Here's my bushel. 30 pounds.

First the beans are cleaned and the ends are broken off. Most of the beans were snapped also, into smaller pieces. I did do two pints of beans as whole beans (minus the very ends). I snapped all of these during movie night. It took 1 1/2 hours to do all of them. Here's just one batch.

The jars are sterilized in a large pot of water. They are removed and placed on a towel. My canner holds 7 jars, apparently the 7th is off screen.

1 t of salt is added to each jar.

The jars are stuffed full of the raw beans. 1 inch of head room is left at the top. Carole blanched hers. You can hot pack them by cooking them a few minutes first. I cold packed meaning I added them to the jars raw.

Boiling water is added to the jars to fill them up to the bottom of the neck.

The tops of the jars and the bottoms of the lids are wiped down. The lids are placed on top and the rings are added.

Green beans get processed in the pressure canner for 25 minutes for quarts.

Yes, I said pressure canner. You must be brave. Don't let your mama's threats of it exploding scare you.

You can do it. 10 pounds for 25 minutes. The time starts when the doo-dad jiggles.

Pressure canners are different. My pressure canner has me put the jars in, add water until it's 2 inches high, add the lid and lock to seal. The gauge guy is added to the top at the correct weight. Then, my directions say to turn the heat to high until it starts to jiggle. The time starts here. I am then to turn the heat to medium allowing the jiggle guy to jiggle at least 4 times a minute. When the timer goes off, I am to turn off the heat and scoot the canner over to a cool burner (not that's it's cool, it's just off). About 25 minutes later when the jiggle guy is done steaming, he gets taken off. When the lid is removed the jars are still way hot. They get placed on a towel for about the next 12 hours. The rings can be removed when the seals have popped and they are cooled.

I ended up with a funny half jar so we had those for dinner tonight. oh yum. They had the texture of a grocery store can of beans, but the taste of a fresh bean. It's going to be a tasty winter!

6 comments:

Your Mom is right. I remember someone giving me a jar a few years ago that I kept saving. When asked why I saved them, I said I was waiting for the queen. That thought I meant one of you but I meant Q. E. I was lucky to get home canned again last year. I am enjoying fresh ones cooked in chicken broth.

I enjoy canning too and I am hosting a Canning Week Blog Party the week of August 23-27th. I hope you will stop by as we will be having a linky party as well as recipes, tips, and lots of give-a-ways. Stop by for a Latte' and check it out.

i have never canned green beans. I actaully cooked them last night and took some to different familt members so i wouldnt waste any. wish i had seen this last night! I'd love to have this added to our Friday Food Favs Link Party! http://bigbearswife.blogspot.com/2010/07/friday-food-favs.html

I'll admit that I'm afraid of the pressure canner. I have one that was my husband's grandmother's. It has a new seal and a new something else that I can't remember now. Anyway, MY grandmother always told the horror story about the potatoes exploding all over the kitchen. Our beans are going to be ready to can any day now so it's time to face the music.....uh....I mean pressure canner! You make it look easy! Thanks for posting this!